Ruth Rodriguez is a Graduate Student Researcher at the Possibility Lab, working on the Youth Empowerment Commission (YEC) Project. She is a Master of Public Policy Candidate at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, holding two Bachelor’s degrees in Public Affairs and Education & Social Transformation, with a minor in Labor Studies, from UCLA.

With Spanish as her first language, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, a member of a mixed-status family, a first-generation college student, and born and raised in Los Angeles, community is at the heart of everything Ruth has ever done. Through the qualitative research she has conducted regarding mixed-status families, small ethnic-owned businesses, and the California Department of Education, she has been profoundly shaped by the power of data and community voice.